Perennial Kale – Growing Instructions

Our perennial kale plants are propagated from our own established stock plants at our Derbyshire market garden. We only dispatch well-rooted plugs, rather than unrooted cuttings: the initial propagation stage has already been done for you.

Choosing your perennial kale variety

We grow three varieties of perennial kale at our Derbyshire market garden, and we have noticed some useful differences between them.

Daubenton's (green) is the most vigorous of the three in our experience, producing plenty of leafy growth.

Taunton Deane is another vigorous, robust variety, with slightly thicker, more substantial leaves.

Daubenton's Panaché is the variegated form, with blue-green leaves edged in creamy yellow. It is a little less vigorous than the other two, although it still grows very well. We find its leaves the most tender of the three, making it particularly appealing for sandwiches and salads.

All three are productive perennial vegetables, and each has something slightly different to offer.

On arrival and potting up

Unpack your perennial kale plugs promptly and check their condition. If the plugs feel dry, give them a little water or gently spray them to dampen the compost.

We recommend potting your plugs up straight away. A 9 cm pot is ideal for growing them on initially, although you can plant directly into a 2-litre pot if you would prefer to avoid an extra stage of potting up.

Fill your chosen pot with good-quality compost and position the plug so that its surface sits just a few millimetres below the surrounding compost level. Firm the compost well around the plug, ensuring good contact with the surrounding compost.

Water very thoroughly immediately after potting — really puddle the plants in on that first day. After that, keep the compost damp while the plants establish, without leaving them permanently waterlogged.

Keep an eye on the drainage holes underneath your pots. These plants can develop roots remarkably quickly, and you may soon see roots beginning to emerge.

Planting outside

Once your plants have developed a good root system and are ready to plant out, choose a suitable position in the garden.

Prepare the soil, plant at approximately the same depth as in the pot, and firm the soil well around the roots. Water thoroughly after planting and keep the soil moist while the plants establish.

Protecting your plants

Perennial kale is generally a resilient plant, but it can occasionally attract cabbage white butterflies and pigeons. Cabbage white caterpillars may eat the leaves, while pigeons can damage the foliage, particularly during colder months.

Don't panic if your plants suffer some damage. Established perennial kales are remarkably resilient and will often produce fresh growth after being nibbled.

If you would prefer to prevent damage, cover your plants with suitable insect-proof netting to keep cabbage white butterflies away, or bird netting to deter pigeons. Make sure netting is securely fitted and does not trap wildlife.

Growth at our market garden

We have photographed vigorous root and shoot development over approximately 14 days in late summer. A rooted plug potted into a larger pot of compost also developed fresh roots rapidly, without bottom heat. The transparent pot was used only to make the roots visible in photographs: the plant grew in compost, not water. These are observations from our own plants, not a promise of identical growth rates in every season.

Winter care

Our established Daubenton's Panaché stock plants have grown outdoors through Derbyshire winters without protection, including the frosty conditions photographed in December 2023. Newly planted plugs are less established and may benefit from protection in their first winter.

Harvesting your kale

Once your plant is well established and producing plenty of growth, you can begin harvesting regularly.

Start with the older leaves towards the bottom of each upright-growing shoot. Hold the leaf stalk near where it joins the main stem and snap it downwards to remove the entire leaf, stalk and all.

You can take a generous harvest from an established plant, but work your way around it, taking a reasonable number of leaves from each shoot rather than stripping any one shoot bare. Leave plenty of healthy foliage so the plant can continue producing. Always leave the growing tip of each upright shoot intact. Snap off individual leaf stalks, not the shoots themselves: the growing tips are where new leaves continue to develop.

This is how a Zimbabwean woman taught us to harvest perennial kale at our market garden. She was particularly insistent that we should not leave bare leaf stalks attached to the plant — the stalks are food too!

Of the three perennial kales we grow, we find Daubenton's Panaché the most tender; a friend particularly enjoys its leaves in sandwiches.

For advice on choosing tender salad leaves, preparing stalks and cooking your harvest, see Perennial Kale – From Garden to Kitchen.